Saturday This and That

Today as I think about the busy week ahead, I know it will be the grace of God that gets me through. Going to Word Weaver's Volusia County Group on Monday will be a highlight as the members are my heart and soul. Then amidst a lot of family things I head off to the Florida Christian Writer's Conference for a day trip on Friday. I've heard they will be moving this conference to Georgia so I need to be amongst the group I've come to love, one last time. I'm looking forward to hugging Carol Kent in person, after praying for many, many years for her family and their son, Jason. I know all the speakers and classes will be excellent and I'm so grateful for Eva Marie Everson, Mark Hancock and the whole staff for their labor of love. 

The enemy has tried to slow me down a lot with some joint pain that makes walking uncomfortable and I guess it's true, getting old isn't for sissies. I'm asking the Lord for extreme favor and healing.

So pray for me and I'll pray for you. May we go out burning with the flame of the Holy Spirit.

It’s our most poignant and maybe important day to post and pray; I once saw a picture post that said “God bless the mother who has lost a child.” We pray blessings upon those mothers, and we pray on Saturdays for those who have lost loved ones to death. Many among us have lost loved ones, mates, children and young adult children. The most unnatural thing in the world they say is burying your child. Lord, send your strong father arms of comfort to those who are grieving. And I also say, there is more than one way to lose a child, and that is why we have so many hurting mothers, praying together on this group. 

Many of my widow friends are trying to find a new “normal.” Lord, we call out to You for them.

Some families are estranged and hurting and waiting for their miracle. They pray, they long for the “happy family” scenario that is portrayed in the media. They come to realize they are powerless and only the Lord’s power can truly show what is His perfect will. We fall down and we get up, sometimes we feel like we are smacked down and no one sees us. No one sees the heart of love, no one sees the tears, but no, the Lord has them bottled in precious urns in the heavens, not one falls that He does not notice. That’s the kind of God we serve, a savior kind, who will heal in His timing. 

He will be Your strong support today, if you will give it over to Him. Sometimes just taking the next step may be the hardest thing you can do and the bravest also. Then maybe as we walk towards His will for us (and sometimes that is not easy to understand or even know,) His Holy Spirit arrives and that wind will revive us. A prayer and a song is what I offer today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JXIEmVQi3Q

12 weeks today; For this I have Jesus.

12 weeks today; For this I have Jesus.

 

Yes, once again I've waited way too long to update my blog. Sometimes just looking at the subjects in my emails would give me subjects for a blog, such as this one: "Your brain and memory are failing..." or "Dad catches cupcake thief red-handed." Who are these people and how do they know me so well? LOL!

 

One of my favorite old commercials I've updated to fit my life, is "My face has fallen and it won't get back up!"  Stress does make me wonder where my brain and memory went as the last 12 weeks have been incredibly sad and stressful. I can see the age creeping up each time I look in the mirror and yes, I need to do so many things but sometimes getting out the door with my hair combed, such as it is, may be the miracle for the day. Aryel's hair is more important. She's doing well at the new school and I'm so grateful that she not only has Shirley Temple's hair but her personality for the most part. She loves to sing and dance and watch old reruns of Full House. Especially when her mom comes over.

 

I'm incorporating my book review of Andy Lee's new book here. I love Andy, having met her at FCWC and felt a kindred spirit right away. All I have to do is look at her sweet, smiling face and I'm comforted. I was so honored that she would send me an advance copy of her book to review. I wish I could afford to buy you all one, it is that beautiful. I would've loved to have copied and pasted paragraphs all over facebook of some of her quotes as they meant so much to me.

Here it is:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Like-Me-Flawed-Called/dp/0891123342/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1460808887&sr=8-2&keywords=andy+Lee

 

 

A Mary Like Me is one of the few books that as soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it all over again. Andy Lee is a poignant, loving woman and her books and writings are the essence of her spirit. Holy Spirit, that is. Andy is well qualified to write this book with a degree from Eastern Nazarene University and has taught Bible studies for over twenty years but I have to say it's her heart that draws me to her writings.

 

 I loved when Andy described original Greek words that acquaint us with this book and scenarios of the stories. There are resources in the back of the book and also an invitation to start your own Mary Group. The meaning of the name Mary/Miryam which is: bitter, rebellious, defiant, beloved, gift of God don't even seem to belong in the same sentence let alone meaning, but in a way, it was comforting to me.  Haven't we acted at times, like all of those meanings?

 

 

This quote is one of the reasons I so fell in love with this book, "Some of the most fearless, determined, and brilliant women I've met have struggle with mental turmoil. I've often found myself beside them, begging them to give up and go home. But they didn't surrender the situation until they won the battle or became too weary to continue. The truth is, when a woman has been forced to fight for life---whether in a bad family, bad marriage or mental illness---this person, more times than not, becomes a survivor." From beautiful Andy Lee in her book, A Mary Like Me, Flawed Yet Called

 

I thought of several women when I read this and some that I'm hoping will learn to survive soon. Some that I love dearly and anguish with the thoughts of their torment yet sometimes the choice is beyond what we can do to help. The choice is theirs. My thoughts from reading this book: make good choices today, people, it affects more than just yourself. It affects the whole family and generations to come.

 

Another quote that I want to include is:

 “There is no one that Jesus does not want to heal and cannot use for the furthering of the Kingdom of God. There is no one who is worthless, or incurable, or unusable. May it be noted the gospel of Jesus Christ resurrected was first proclaimed through the lips of a woman to men. God never intended to silence half of his creation in proclaiming his gospel.

          Perhaps if Peter had hung around long enough at the tombs that day, he would have been given the opportunity to tell the Good News, but he didn’t. Mary did. God is an equal opportunity employer. May we employ our mouths today as Mary did, no longer affected by the rejection of others but unswervingly, undeniably convinced of the life of Jesus.”

Andy Lee has done a wonderful job of expressing who the many Marys in the Bible were; women like many of us.

 

Jesus More Than Repairs

I've decided I want to spend the rest of my life writing something concerning these words posted below. David Fleming has been preaching this message for four years and it comes from Romans 5:15. When he grasped the true goodness of God doing this, he has preached the message that "God is so good to me." It blesses everyone who hears it.

He more than repairs,
Far exceeds any damage,
and immeasurably outweighs

"God is so good to us," says Pastor David Fleming* from Tulsa, OK

http://podcasts.fwcpo.org/03.03.2015_david_fleming.mp3

As Brother David preached I felt that the Lord was saying that many people are living with an "orphan spirit." It affects how they perceive the love of our Lord and the love that is available from other people. They can't even receive that love because they are so bound up in the lies that the enemy of their soul throws at them continually. Lies, such as:

You're not good enough.

No one loves you.

You're a bad person (or insert mom, dad, husband, wife, child).

You're never going to have what you want.

No one is ever going to forgive you.

What you have is not enough.

God doesn't treat you fairly.

God will never answer your prayers.

Your family doesn't treat you fairly.

Your life is worthless to others...

And on and on and on, the enemy taunts you and there really is no one except the Lord God Almighty that can come in and do the work in your soul and in your broken heart but Him.

That's what David Fleming felt like for years when he felt abandoned by God when his father died when he was a teenager. The enemy taunted him for years until four years ago when he began to meditate on the word of the Lord, and the verse Romans 5:15 especially. The joy that this verse has brought him is so evident that it overflows to the audience and makes us all happy.

It actually made me want to do "The happy dance." It can make you feel like you have found your happy place, too. Now I will remind myself of this often and go back and research and meditate this verse in different translations.

Yes, it is true for all of us that our story isn't finished. Earlier Pastor Ray Dubois from Family Worship Center shared that someone had called him and told him that he had gotten an email from someone who was rejoicing. They had been praying for something for 14 years and God answered that prayer! What if they had given up on year 13? Press on in prayer.

The free gift immeasurably outweighs what we have gone through when waiting for our breakthrough. More than repairs, more than repairs, more than repairs all the hurts, abuses, damage and loss of relationships that you may have endured here on earth. What Jesus did for you on the cross more than repairs all of these things. Praise His holy name, we have an awesome savior and He is our Father-figure, actually our true Father. We have no excuse to continue in an orphan spirit. We rebuke the enemy who taunts us with this spirit and we say that no more will we listen to lies.

Declare over yourself as Pastor David did who God is and He will declare who you are. A child of God. A beloved child of God.

  * flemingministries.org/

http://mystory@flemingministries.org/

The words and tune to this song came to me as I pondered writing this blog. I think it is a perfect match.

Lyrics to You Are Here (The Same Power)

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me, your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me.

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me. Your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me. Lift it up

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me. Your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me. 

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me...., lives in me. Your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me...

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me..., lives in me, Jesus your love your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me.

Same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me, O your love your love that rescued the earth lives in me, lives in me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4MdUQKA5CQ

Last but not least a PS about Florida Christian Writer's Conference:

Bill and Ashley did a great job of keeping the fort while I was away, taking a continuing education/mental health day at FCWC. It is always so cool to be among the awesome writers who attend the conference and to meet authors of books that I have read. I must say Allison Bottke rocks! But then I always knew she would. Lucinda Secrest McDowell had such a unique way of ending her workshop, that she blessed me all over the place. I also attended two other workshops. One was by Dianne Neal Matthews, a devotional workshop and the other one was by Rusty Wright about Communicating Christ to the Secular Audience. They were both awesome teachers. I was really blessed how Eddie Jones really listened and told me some pointers as far as hooks using my own words in our one on one appointment. Seeing my angel friend, Margie Houmes who the Lord put in the right place at the right time for us to connect as well as Jan Powell; it really made my day. I was so proud of our own Word Weaver Volusia Ray Gant as he received his writing award and ending the day with Ken and Patricia Keough-Wilson while we watched our own former president Mark Hancock, Eva Marie Everson and Sarah Carpenter Bulls oversee the awards presentations. All in all a priceless day:)